


lucky

by bukkunkun



Series: secondary typing [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: (but only implied?), Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Barebacking, Children, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fatherhood, Headcanon, Holidays, Hotel Sex, I'm so sorry, Introspection, M/M, Married Life, Romance, Steven Stone Has Trauma Actually, Switching, Trauma, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26857795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: Steven and Wallace Stone celebrate a milestone in their life in Alto Mare, and participate in a long-standing tradition of water sports, and meeting legendary Pokémon.Steven discovers something new about himself, and Wallace, for once, is not along for the ride.
Relationships: Mikuri | Wallace/Tsuwabuki Daigo | Steven Stone
Series: secondary typing [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619305
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	lucky

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the same universe as the [secondary typing series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619305), so you may need to have read at least [chapter 41](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193149/chapters/64657111) of the sea between us (and the storms we bring) to understand the end of the fic. If you don't particularly mind the weird mysterious power shenanigans going on, then by all means, I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> The sweet, darling [Cobalt Stone](https://twitter.com/cuteskittyart/status/1282814477940006912?s=20) belongs to the amazing [Caro](https://twitter.com/cuteskittyart) on Twitter, whose name and base design was used with permission and with heartfelt gratitude. Again, thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity! Please go check their art out, everyone! ~~it was because of them that I really REALLY got into originshipping ^ q ^~~
> 
> "wait what's canon in the secondary typeverse? the game or the anime?" yes. i mix and match what i like. ~~[here's my twitter by the way i don't share it as much anymore because ao3 broke embeds](https://twitter.com/trickscd)~~
> 
> Pokemon names that have been previously mentioned in the series:  
> \- Orpheus, Steven's Metagross  
> \- Eurydice, Wallace's Milotic (it was because she looked like tree bark as a Feebas)

Alto Mare held a special place in Steven’s heart, ever since the last time he went there.

“ _Pelipper Airways flight AL047 is now boarding at Gate 23. Passengers bound for Goldenrod City, Johto, please head to Gate 23._ ”

The still air of the Rustboro Interregional Airport smelled like halogens, Steven thought. It reminded him of the briefcase of Devon contracts he had in his carry-on, and he could almost wince at the thought of it. 

“Oh!” Wallace lit up next to him, looking up from his PokéNav Plus, smiling fondly. “Looks like it’s time.”

“It’s time! It’s time!” Steven looked down at the boy jumping up and down next to Wallace, holding onto his hand gleefully as he looked up at Steven. “Dad! Dad! Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Cobalt, darling, don’t get too excited.” Wallace chuckled, putting his PokéNav into his bag, his other hand pulling Cobalt close. He let out a small grunt of effort as he picked the boy up, earning him bright giggles from Cobalt. “Oh, you heavy boy!” He laughed, rubbing his cheek with Cobalt’s. The boy hugged him delightedly, and Wallace staggered slightly. 

“I’m not heavy, Papa!” Cobalt protested. “Dad can carry me easily!” 

“Yeah.” Steven nodded, and Wallace smiled at him fondly, looking utterly _radiant_ with the way his sea-green eyes softened at him. Steven felt his heart flutter as he looked at his husband and their son together, and he could almost _cry_ at the sight of them. 

_Oh, how did I get so lucky?_ He wondered, as Wallace pressed a kiss to Cobalt’s cheek.

“Oh, but I suppose I can’t blame you—it’s your first time on a plane, isn’t it!” He said, and the boy nodded eagerly, bouncing up and down in Wallace’s arms, and the man laughed, holding onto Cobalt. “No, Cobalt! You’re too heavy, I said!” 

“C’mere.” Steven laughed, taking his son off Wallace’s hands, and the taller man huffed, brushing himself off as Cobalt blew Wallace a cheeky little raspberry. Wallace peered around them for a moment, his cheeks turning pink, and Steven laughed softly to himself when Wallace deemed they were alone enough to stick his tongue out—if a little demurely—at Cobalt, too. 

“Dad!” Cobalt giggled, burying his face into the crook of Steven’s neck. “Papa’s teasing me!”

“That’s what you get for teasing him, too.” He said, as Wallace took hold of their carry-ons, chuckling fondly. “C’mon, Cobalt. We’re going.” 

“Yeah!” The boy cheered, squirming excitedly in Steven’s arms, and he laughed, trying to hold his son still. “Fly! Fly!”

“You’d think he’d get used to it, flying around on Mercury all the time.” Steven grinned, and he jumped when Wallace leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“This is very different from your old Skarmory, Steven.” He chuckled, and Steven couldn’t stop grinning as Wallace tugged on his cravat. “Come on, you two, or we’ll miss the boarding.”

“Coming!” Father and son chirped together, and Wallace huffed fondly as he pulled along their bags.

Steven watched Wallace walk ahead of him, Cobalt’s excited babbling like music in his ear as he sighed happily.

Oh, how did he get so lucky, indeed?

* * *

“Yes. Thank you very much. We eagerly look forward to working with you again.” Steven bowed deeply, and was met with another bow. 

“Think nothing of it, Mr. Stone!” The other man said pleasantly, and Steven straightened up, smiling. “Goldenrod Radio Tower will definitely reach even further with the help of Devon Corporation! If anything, _we_ should be thanking you!” He eagerly held his hand out for Steven to shake, and Steven nodded, taking the man’s hands to shake their hands together firmly. “And that silver Metagross, what a _beauty!_ Truly fantastic, if I do say so myself!”

“Thank you.” Steven smiled pleasantly. “Please let Devon Corporation know if any problems arise. We have a dedicated team of technicians that can offer services for any equipment that may fail, and we’ll be sending over some staff to give training to local technicians, if you need them.”

“That would be fantastic.” The man nodded. “Though let’s take it a step at a time!” He laughed, and Steven nodded. 

“Of course.” He replied. “Well, I should get going now.” He gave the man a bow again, and the man nodded.

“Oh, of course. Your father mentioned you’ll be touring Johto for a bit?” He asked, and Steven laughed sheepishly, nodding. 

“Yes, just for a little bit. My family and I will be visiting Alto Mare.”

“Alto Mare!” The man grinned. “Oh, of course! The annual Tour de Alto Mare should be right around the corner!”

Steven nodded. “My husband wanted to give it a go, but I don’t know if he’s really committed to it.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I’d best be off. Land travel from here to Cherrygrove takes a few hours, and we have a little boy with us.”

“Oh, good luck.” The man winced, and Steven gave him a helpless grin. “Safe travels!”

“Thank you!” Steven gave the man another bow, and strode towards the elevator, humming softly as he tapped his foot, waiting for the elevator to reach the floor he was on. It dinged pleasantly, letting him in, and he peered at his PokéNav Plus, smiling fondly as he saw the Goldenrod Radio signal grow stronger, the feed on his PokéNav’s screen improving even as he was making his way down the building. “Looks like it works well.” He murmured, and tucked his PokéNav back into his pocket. He stepped out of the elevator as it dinged his arrival to the lobby, and he lit up when he saw Wallace and Cobalt sitting down at one of the plush couches in the lobby. 

He hurried over to them, smiling widely as Wallace looked up from where Cobalt was pointing at something in the Luvdisc tank in the middle of the lobby. 

“Hey.” He greeted, leaning down just as Wallace leaned up to peck their lips together. “I’m done.”

“Dad’s done?” Cobalt asked, and Steven nodded, smiling at his son as he ruffled his hair. 

“Yep.” He said, and Cobalt lit up, leaping off the couch to hug his leg. Steven grinned, looking at Wallace, who smiled as he crossed his leg over the other, swinging his—oh, _brand new?_ —stiletto shoe casually as he gave Steven a pointed look. The man felt heat surge in his cheeks, and he laughed nervously as he petted Cobalt’s head. “Well, we’re off to Cherrygrove, Cobalt. I hope Wallace here tired you out while you two were at the Department Store.”

“I think it was the other way around, honestly.” Wallace huffed, and Cobalt giggled brightly as he uncrossed his leg, getting up with a wince. “ _Ugh._ He’s got as much energy as you do when you’ve got your eyes on a pretty stone.”

“You sure it wasn’t just the heels?” Steven asked, laughing brightly as Wallace towered over him, giving him a wry look. “I’m kidding. I see they’re new.”

“I figured I deserved it,” Wallace replied, “Considering Cobalt wanted a new pair of shoes, too.”

“Oh!” Steven looked down, and burst out laughing when he saw his son in a pair of children’s rubber shoes with Lance’s face on them. His Dragonite was also part of the design, and Steven couldn’t help but grin. “Oh, I didn’t know they still made these!” He said, kneeling to look at Cobalt’s charmingly mismatched shoes from the rest of his clothes, which were a pair of shorts held up with blue suspenders on top of a neat white dress shirt. “Oh, Arceus. That’s so cute.”

“Dad, you like ‘em?” Cobalt asked, and Steven nodded, leaning up to kiss his forehead. 

“Apparently, they were part of a new collection featuring some of the most popular champions across the different regions.” Wallace said, and Steven raised an eyebrow at him. “Cynthia has a pair with her face on it, too.”

“Oh, no.” Steven chuckled, getting up and offering his hand to Cobalt. The boy took it, humming happily as they began to head out of the building. “What about the Hoenn champion?”

“Unfortunately, we share.” Wallace gave him a wink, and Steven laughed into his hand. “The Champion of Kalos was there, too, you remember her?”

“Oh, Diantha.” Steven nodded. “You met her at Worlds too, you know.”

“Yes, I know.” Wallace chuckled. “Let’s see… Iris, Alder. The Alolan Champion.”

“Skye.” Steven supplied, and Wallace hummed as they came to a stop at an SUV waiting for them outside the building. They stopped for a moment to help Cobalt into the backseat, and Steven stepped into the driver’s seat, earning him a raised eyebrow from Wallace. Steven gave his husband a little grin. “I’ll drive. You seem tired.”

“Alright.” Wallace huffed, and got into the front passenger seat, humming as Steven started the engine. Behind them, they heard a pillow hitting the window, and the husbands looked over their shoulders to see Cobalt wrestling with some of the Pokémon Dolls in the car. A Luvdisc plush was on the floor, and Wallace tutted as Cobalt tried to untangle himself from a Milotic plush while he was pressed up against a rather beat-up looking Aggron plush. “Cobalt, sit up properly! You’ll get a headache like that.”

Steven sighed happily, and turned his attention back to the road, beginning the drive out of Goldenrod City. He was content on listening to Wallace and Cobalt talk about their little adventure in the Department Store—at the small _throngs_ of people eagerly wanting a photo with Wallace and Cobalt, and how they escaped them—until the little boy fell asleep, finally tired out from the excitement of his day. Wallace sighed tiredly, leaning against the window as Steven chuckled fondly, reaching down to squeeze his thigh. 

“You’re doing fantastic, Wallace.” He said gently, and Wallace smiled, taking Steven’s hand off his thigh to press a kiss to his knuckles. 

“You seem happy.” Wallace replied, and Steven hummed, shrugging. “I told you it was a good idea to go on vacation.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Steven nodded. “I guess work was eating me alive, huh? Not exactly the bum I used to be when I lost the championship title.”

Wallace sighed contentedly, reclining his seat as he stretched out lazily on it. 

“Darling, don’t distract me, I’m trying to drive.”

“I wasn’t trying to distract you.” Wallace purred, but rolled over to rest on his side, watching his husband drive with half-lidded eyes. “But I’m hoping to do exactly that when we get to Alto Mare.”

“Not _now,_ ” Steven huffed, and Wallace could see his cheeks turning pink. The other man laughed softly, and righted himself, lying back on the reclined seat with a sigh. “Tell me more about what happened in the Department Store.” He said after a long moment of silence, and Wallace smiled. 

“I bought the pair that had us on it.” He said, and Steven stifled his laugh behind his hand, wary of waking Cobalt up behind them. “There were nine pairs there, you know.”

“Nine?” Steven cocked his head, and Wallace nodded. 

“Red was there, too.” He said, and Steven hummed. “And the Galarian Champion.” 

Steven’s expression fell, as Wallace peered out of the window with a sigh. 

“Leon.” He said quietly, thinking of the young man who soundly defeated Lance, one of the strongest Trainers he knew. Leon had the type disadvantage, using that amazing form-changing Charizard against Lance’s old, battle scarred red Gyarados from Johto, and yet Leon had come out on top. “That kid’s strong.” He said, and Wallace nodded.

“Agreed.” He said, “It’s a shame we never got to talk to him. Cynthia was the only one pushy enough to try.” 

“Well, the others weren’t too sure what to make of him and that Mr. Rose, and we had Cobalt to take care of.” Steven said, squeezing the wheel. “I still make it a point not to work with Macro Cosmos, though.”

“Still?” Wallace asked, sitting up to look at him worriedly, and Steven nodded, frowning. “Even if your father asks?”

“I don’t let Macro Cosmos proposals reach his desk.” Steven replied, and Wallace deflated, reaching down to squeeze Steven’s hand on the gear shifter. “I… I really don’t trust them.” He met Wallace’s gaze. “Just recently I read about unscrupulous business practices in the company, and then the Wyndon Times had released an investigative report about Macro Cosmos finances, and the state of the Galarian environment…” He shook his head. “It’s bad news, Macro Cosmos. Some projects are actively destroying the environment, and I don’t want that kind of reputation anywhere _near_ Hoenn, not when we’ve worked so hard with May and Brendan to maintain its balance.”

“Right.” Wallace nodded gravely. “I’d hate to think that Leon would be caught up in all this, but…”

“I know what you mean.” Steven sighed, shaking his head. “Which is why I’ve decided to wait, until somehow Galar gets its act together, or something. Did you know they have a _law_ preventing certain species from entering the region?” He asked, and Wallace blinked at him. “There’s a reason why I didn’t bring Orpheus to finals, Wallace.” He sighed, and his husband blinked at him. 

“Oh.” He said quietly, and Steven gave him a withering smile. Wallace’s expression darkened as he sat up. “If you’d brought Orpheus, you would’ve won.”

“Well, that’s a different story altogether.” Steven laughed, shaking his head as he came to a stop at a traffic light, leaning over to press a kiss to Wallace’s frowning lips. “Well, it’s all in the past. We’re here to relax, okay? We can worry about Leon some other time.”

Wallace huffed, but leaned forward to kiss Steven properly. Steven sighed, kissing him back as his eyes slid shut, but it was over faster than it began, as Wallace pulled away from him, patting his arm quickly. 

“Light’s green.” He said, and Steven huffed, but continued driving. He could taste Wallace’s lip gloss on his lips, licking it off absentmindedly as his husband sighed again, leaning back in his seat.

“You’ve been doing that a lot.” Steven said, and Wallace hummed. “Sighing.”

“Oh, just… well, I’ve been thinking about some things.” He said, and Steven nodded. They passed over a bridge, entering a freeway that rose above a beaten path where they could see a few Trainers walking along, the Johto starter Pokémon walking alongside them. Wallace smiled a little at that, and Steven could see it reflected in the rear-view mirror. He couldn’t help but smile, too, and Wallace peered at him. 

“About what?”

“Things.” He said, and looked out the window again. 

“I’m not a mind reader, Wallace.” Steven teased, and his husband chuckled. 

“It’s just… Cobalt’s growing up so fast.” He said, and Steven hummed. “It feels just like yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital, and we were trying to figure out how to deal with everything.”

“Feeding schedules.” Steven sighed happily. 

“How to handle frozen breast milk.” Wallace nodded. 

“Changing diapers.”

“Calming crying babies.” 

The husbands shared a quiet laugh together. 

“I honestly didn’t think I would love him this much.” Wallace admitted quietly, and Steven smiled a little wider. “Of course, I had my Lisia, and I love her, but at the end of the day, she was my sister’s, never truly _mine._ ” He reached down to hold Steven’s hand on top of the gear shifter again, and squeezed gently. “But Cobalt… is _ours._ Sure, my sister carried him, but he’s… _ours._ And I still can’t get over that.”

Steven peered at Wallace, who was looking at Cobalt behind them with so much _love_ in his eyes, it made his own well up. He blinked moisture out of his eyes, and turned his attention back to the road. 

“It’s been five years.” Wallace murmured. “And in five more… he’ll leave home, just like we once did.”

“It’s gonna be hard.” Steven agreed, and Wallace nodded. 

“One of these days, you’ll leave home, too.” He said, and Steven pursed his lips. “Steven, you know it’s inevitable. Your father’s trained you all your life for this, and soon it’ll be _your_ turn to run Devon.”

“I know.” Steven said quietly, and they fell into a silence that wasn’t tense—just _resigned._ “I almost don’t want to, you know.”

Wallace blinked at him, and Steven laughed sadly, shaking his head. 

“Becoming a geologist and having adventures around the world sounded nice, before… everything.” He said, as Wallace sat up, reaching out to him to cup his cheek in his hand. Steven leaned into Wallace’s palm, as his husband thumbed at his cheekbone. “I had thought about it. When I lost the championship title again, to someone who wasn’t _you,_ I was—grateful.”

“You did say that.” Wallace murmured, and Steven nodded, humming. 

“‘ _I’m free,_ ’ I thought back then.” He said, “The moment Orpheus went down, it was the first thing on my mind.” 

Their car left the freeway and entered a slightly beat-up road. In the distance, the serenity of Cherrygrove City framed the glittering waters beyond it. 

“But then I married you.” Steven slowed the car down to a stop next to a tree, and turned to look at him. Wallace’s expression fell, but Steven smiled, shaking his head as he reached out for Wallace, pulling him close to kiss him deeply. Wallace jumped for a moment, but leaned in, kissing him back slowly as heat spread from their lips to their cheeks, dyeing them pink as the husbands pulled apart. Steven cupped Wallace’s cheek in his hand, too, and looked at him meaningfully. “And I thought… maybe settling down somewhere would be nice, too.”

“Steven.” Wallace breathed.

“It wasn’t my ideal, but it was a compromise I was happy to take.” He continued. “Wallace, we’ve been together for so long… and I’m really, really grateful.” 

“Me too.” Wallace said softly, and Steven gave him a smile. 

“So, I’m taking it in stride.” He said, “I’ll take Devon off my father’s hands. I’ll keep improving Hoenn, and the rest of the world, if I have to.”

Steven took Wallace’s hand, and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

“For your sake.” He said, and smiled at the peacefully-sleeping Cobalt. “For Cobalt’s sake, too.”

Wallace gave him a soft smile and leaned forward to kiss him again. Steven laughed softly into their kiss, pulling him close, and when they parted for air, Wallace pressed their foreheads together.

“I was thinking about how lonely I was going to get.” He said, and Steven jumped, pulling away from him to look at him in alarm. Wallace gave him a sad little smile, and looked down at their joined hands, their wedding rings glittering beautifully in the setting sun. 

“Wallace…” Steven breathed. 

“You’ll be CEO, and Cobalt will leave home, and I’ll… still be in Sootopolis.” He sighed, shaking his head. “That was what I was thinking.”

“I…” Steven squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Wallace shook his head. “Sorry, it’s… it won’t be for another five years, anyway, and—”

“It’s not fine.” Steven said, and Wallace fell quiet. “I won’t… I won’t let you feel that way.”

Wallace looked down again, and Steven sighed. 

“I’ll come home every night, I promise.” He said, “In fact, when we come home after this trip, we’re going to go look for somewhere to live, where we can meet in the middle.”

At that, Wallace’s head shot up, and he looked at Steven with wide eyes.

“I don’t want you to leave the Sootopolis Gym, just as much as you don’t want to leave it, but I don’t want to be a burden, either.” He shook his head. “We’ll meet halfway.” 

Wallace’s eyes welled up, and he nodded, his smile growing a little more as he squeezed Steven’s hand. 

“It’ll be a beautiful little cottage.” He said, as Steven nodded, laughing as he began to drive again. “Oh, near the sea, where Cobalt can see the stars as the sun sinks into the ocean at night!”

“And near some caves!” Steven nodded, earning him fond laughter from Wallace. “So Cobalt can see how beautiful geodes are, split open and glittering in lamplight!” 

The husbands continued to talk happily, as behind them, Cobalt smiled into the Luvdisc plush, snuggling close into the Aggron plush next to it.

Oh, he was the luckiest boy in the world, indeed.

* * *

Alto Mare held a special place in Steven’s heart for a few reasons, but none of them were as big as the reason right before him—

Wallace, smiling brightly as they sailed through the canals of the gorgeous City of Water, lit with gorgeous, delicate metal work steel lamps. He was a sight to behold, the gentle orange glow of the lamps reflected in glittering sea-green eyes, lips pulled up into a wide smile as he took in his Sootopolis, far from home.

He looked just like that too, all those years ago.

A long time ago, it was just Steven and Wallace, sitting across each other on a gondola while the gondolier behind Steven quietly piloted their boat. At some point during their trip, the young man had caught on to what Steven had been planning, and with no small amount of snickering and giggling, promised his silence so that Steven could ‘ _have his romantic way with his bell'uomo_ ’ and that almost made Steven want to back out of what he was planning.

In the end, he didn’t, though, otherwise the charming little boy on Wallace’s lap naming all the Pokémon he could see in the water would not exist. 

“Papa, it’s a Luvdisc!” Cobalt cheered, launching forward, and the gondola swayed a little precariously. Their gondolier burst out laughing as Wallace jumped, struggling to hold Cobalt back as the boy excitedly pointed at a school of pink Pokémon under the pristine water. In the sunset, the Luvdisc looked purple, and Steven remembered the glittering gemstone in a small briefcase in their suite. 

He smiled to himself as Wallace gently scolded Cobalt, who pouted at him. 

It was nearing nightfall when they arrived at Alto Mare, catching the last boat to the island before the pier closed at Cherrygrove. They left the SUV at a parking lot near the pier, and when they arrived at the little island, Wallace was positively aglow with delight at the familiar city around them. 

Cobalt held the same stars in Wallace’s eyes, Steven thought. He really was Wallace’s son just as much as he was Steven’s. 

“Oh, Arceus.” Wallace sighed, pulling Steven out of his thoughts as his husband smiled at him, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear as he moved over to Steven’s side to hold his hand. “Alto Mare’s as gorgeous as ever.” 

“Isn’t it?” Steven chuckled, pressing a kiss to Wallace’s cheek as Cobalt hurried up to them, dropping himself on Steven’s lap with a huff. Steven laughed, pulling away from Wallace to adjust the petulant boy so he was seated across their laps more comfortably. “And _you!_ ” He huffed, nuzzling Cobalt’s head, and the boy giggled brightly. “Don’t tip the boat over, you’ll ruin your Papa’s jumpsuit!”

“I’m not trying to, promise!” Cobalt said, and peered up at Wallace pleadingly. “Papa, will you go to the race tomorrow? I wanna see, I wanna see!”

“Oh, the race!” Wallace gasped, as behind them, their gondolier lit up.

“Ah, the Tour de Alto Mare is tomorrow, yes!” He said, and they all turned to look at him. “I’m sure it would suit you perfectly well, _Signore_! You’re the Sootopolis City’s Gym Leader, aren’t you?” 

“Well!” Wallace huffed, smiling as he nodded. “Yes, I am.” 

“Yeah, knew it!” The young man beamed. “I’m a big fan. Name’s Ned, by the way.”

“Hello.” Wallace smiled. “Always nice to meet a fan.”

“Anyway, I was hoping to see you at the race tomorrow, it’d be spectacular.” Ned said, “It’s a race that celebrates water-types, so I’m sure you’ll fit right in.” 

“Well…” Wallace peered at Steven, who gave him an encouraging grin.

“I never thought you’d be the type to back down from a challenge, Wallace?” He teased, and Wallace shot him a little smirk.

“You always know what to say, don’t you, _darling?_ ” Wallace drawled, and turned to Ned with a confident swagger in his movement. “Maybe I shall.” He said with a determined huff.

“Yay! Papa!” Cobalt cheered delightedly, getting up onto his feet to hug Wallace properly.

A wave beneath them rocked the boat, and Ned’s eyes widened.

“Oh, wait, kid, be careful!” He shouted, but it was too late, and Cobalt toppled over the edge of the gondola. Steven and Wallace jumped, and Wallace was quick to shove his beret into Steven’s hands. He kicked his shoes off—which Steven caught quickly before they, too, were lost to the water, and leapt into the water after Cobalt.

Steven sat there, staring in stunned awe as his husband and child disappeared into the pristine canals of Alto Mare, and wondered how in the _world_ were they going to get out of this unscathed.

He peered at the water over the edge of the boat, while Ned hurried over to stand next to him, clutching his head. 

“The canals aren’t usually turbulent, aren’t they?” Steven asked, and Ned nodded. 

“Just a little current, _Signore_.” Ned replied. “Alto Mare’s canals are calm, hardly anything too strong.” He frowned, taking his boater off as he ran his hand through his hair. “I wonder…”

Wallace suddenly surfaced, and Steven jumped, setting his husband’s things down on the boat before reaching out to him. 

“Wallace!” He called, and Wallace reached out for him. Steven grabbed his hand, pulling him up higher—only to realise that Wallace wasn’t carrying anything. “Wh—Wallace, where’s—”

“I can’t find him.” There was genuine _terror_ in Wallace’s eyes as he clung onto Steven’s hand tightly. “He hasn’t surfaced yet?”

“No.” Steven breathed, his eyes prickling. “ _No._ ”

“I—I’ll try again.” Wallace said, letting Steven’s hand go, and he could only sit there, staring blankly as Wallace went underwater again. 

“It’s gotten pretty dark.” Ned said weakly. “Water-type Gym Leader or no, Leader Wallace won’t be able to see…”

“He’ll find him.” Steven said firmly, and Ned blinked at him in surprise. His expression melted into pity when he saw Steven’s white-knuckled grip on Wallace’s beret, when another wave jolted their gondola. Steven gripped the side of the boat, his face going pale as Wallace resurfaced— _and continued to rise into the air._

“What the—” Steven began, watching as Wallace spluttered, coughing up water as he looked up, jerking in alarm. “ _Wallace!_ ”

“This is _most_ undignified, Cobalt! Have him put me down, right now!” He shouted, and Steven’s jaw dropped as a giggling _Latios_ shimmered into view, Cobalt coming into view on its back, soaking wet, but mercifully very much alive. 

“Latios, don’t tease him so much!” Cobalt laughed, and the Latios cooed happily, promptly dropping Wallace into the water again. Steven tried not to laugh—oh, it’d been _so long_ since he'd seen Wallace so _unkempt_ —but the sheer _relief_ that flooded his chest at the sight of Cobalt safe and sound was enough to knock him back. He slumped down on the backrest of their seats in the gondola as Ned laughed in awe, pulling a camera out of a bag behind him to snap a photo of the giggling child on the Latios’s back. 

“Oh, I think my heart’s going to burst.” Steven sighed happily, as Wallace resurfaced with a huff. 

“Dad! Dad! I made a friend!” Cobalt cheered, waving at Steven delightedly as the Latios hovered closer to him, cooing curiously. Steven smiled, reaching up to touch its snout, and he jumped slightly, feeling its clammy skin, smooth and wet. 

“Oh, wow.” He breathed, and jumped, laughing when Wallace petulantly made his way back onto the gondola with a huff. Steven moved over to help him get back on the gondola, and Ned hurried over to help, as well. Wallace grumbled, but when he was settled down—with a towel from Ned wrapped around him—he seemed to calm down, looking up at the Latios with just as much awe as Steven did. 

“That’s amazing.” Wallace said, as the Latios cooed sheepishly, moving close to him. The man tutted at it, wagging a finger. “You’re a particularly naughty thing, aren’t you?” 

Latios whined, and licked at Wallace’s cheek apologetically. He laughed softly at that, and gave him a gentle pet along his neck. Steven looked up at Cobalt, who was grinning happily as he petted the Legendary Pokémon— _holy shit,_ a Legendary—encouragingly.

“And _you_ , young man,” Wallace said, pointing up at Cobalt. “Haven’t we been having swimming lessons? Didn’t we always tell you to surface as soon as you can?”

“Yeah, I wanted to, but it was really hard!” Cobalt protested, and Wallace huffed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. “No, really, Papa! Latios said he was sorry—he just wanted to come over and play with us but accidentally knocked me over the boat!”

“So that’s what the turbulence was!” Ned huffed, as Steven stopped, staring at his son.

 _“I wanted to, but it was really hard!”_ He’d said. 

Steven thought back to when he was around Cobalt’s age—the stories his father would sometimes regale to him while they worked together at Devon HQ.

 _“Oh, your mother and I could never get you to learn how to swim, no matter what.”_ He’d laughed. _“You kept sinking down to the bottom of the pool, just like a rock! Even with a floater, it was hard for you to pick it up. I’m glad Cobalt seems to be doing just fine in the water.”_

 _“I’m not hydrophobic, Dad.”_ Steven had said, but the older man shook his head.

 _“Oh, you weren’t scared of the water at first, no.”_ He’d said. _“You just… grew to hate it for a while, I suppose. When you couldn’t ever float properly, we decided to simply let you be. I’m glad Wallace made you like water again, or heaven knows how you’d feel about Hoenn entirely!”_

Oh, Arceus, Steven thought. 

Cobalt was going to end up just like him.

“Thank you, Latios.” Wallace said, and Steven was pulled out of his thoughts as he watched the Legendary Pokémon hand his son back to Wallace with an apologetic whine. “We’ll be at the Tour de Alto Mare tomorrow. If you want to see Cobalt again and play together, you may meet us there, if you like.”

Latios cooed happily, spinning in the air, and he leaned down to lick Cobalt’s face. The boy giggled, reaching up for the dragon, and Latios gleefully held his little hand. 

Wallace’s anger seemed to be gone completely by now, his expression oh so painfully soft at the sight of the Pokémon and his son, and Steven could only stare. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Latios!” Cobalt cheered, and Latios nodded, before disappearing from view right before their eyes. Wallace and Cobalt shared ecstatic grins, and they both turned to Steven, beaming brightly. “Dad! Dad! That was Latios!”

“Y-yeah…” Steven nodded, laughing awkwardly as he reached forward, gently taking Cobalt from Wallace’s arms. Wallace’s expression softened at him, as Steven pulled Cobalt into a tight hug, unmindful that his clothes were getting wet, too. 

“D-Dad?”

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Steven sighed, pressing his nose into Cobalt’s wet hair, taking a deep breath as he held the boy close to himself. “I’m… really glad.”

_Cobalt was going to end up just like him._

“Oh, Steven…” Wallace sighed fondly, reaching forward to stroke his husband’s cheek, and Steven looked at him pleadingly. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

“More than okay!” Ned nodded, as Steven and Cobalt pulled apart. Steven cocked his head at him, and he gave Steven a grin. “Your son’s probably one of the luckiest little boys in the world, to have made such fast friends with Latios like that!” 

“That’s true.” Wallace nodded, and Steven turned to look at him. “Typically, Legendary Pokémon wouldn’t bother with people like us.” He laughed as Cobalt shivered in Steven’s arms, scurrying away from him to huddle with Wallace under the towel. Wallace wrapped the towel around the both of them, hugging Cobalt warmly. “There.” 

“Well, that just means that maybe you’ve got a little bit of a Legendary blessing!” Ned nodded, and Steven cocked his head at him. 

“Legendary… blessing?” He echoed, and the gondolier nodded. 

“Yeah, like the family taking care of the Latioses and Latiases that pass by Alto Mare. A long time ago, the first Latios that came to Alto Mare blessed their family with the innate ability to commune with all the Eon Pokémon that come over.” Ned explained. “Of course, it only works for Latios and Latias, but that family’s always used that ability to make sure everyone’s alright.”

“Oh, wow…” Cobalt breathed, as Wallace nodded sagely.

“How interesting.” He hummed. 

Steven looked down at his hands. “Blessing, huh…”

The calm canal waters splashed lightly against their boat, and Steven thought of Cobalt, unable to float. 

He balled his hand into a fist. 

Wallace looked at him worriedly, but Steven shook his head.

“Well, if he decides to come back, I’m sure it’ll know not to scare us like that again.” He said pleasantly, and Ned nodded in understanding. “Ned, would it be alright if you could drop us off near our hotel?” 

“No problem, _Signore!_ ” The young man nodded, “Best to get Leader Wallace and the little one nice and dry before they catch a cold.” He gave the family a friendly nod, and kicked off the edge of the canal to continue their journey.

* * *

“Steven. I said no work while we’re in Alto Mare.” 

Steven jumped when he heard Wallace’s voice in his ear, but he quickly calmed down when Wallace snaked his hands over his shoulders, leaning forward to rest his chin on Steven’s shoulder while he hugged his husband from behind. 

“I’m not working, I promise.” Steven said, as Wallace peered at the laptop on the vanity in front of him. 

“ _Legendary… blessing?_ ” Wallace read, frowning slightly as he pressed his cheek against Steven’s. “Are you worried about what the gondolier said?”

“I suppose I am.” Steven said, and Wallace pulled away from him as he turned his chair around to finally face his husband. He wasn’t too surprised to see Wallace in a bathrobe—he’d been eyeing the fluffy, gorgeous thing since they arrived at their hotel, and he smelled like roses. The ribbon was only loosely tied around Wallace’s waist, and if Steven hadn’t been married to him for so long, he would have completely missed Wallace’s unspoken invitation. 

Right now, though, there were things to talk about. 

“Where’s Cobalt?” Steven asked, and Wallace made a vague gesture to their connecting room. 

“Knocked right out.” Wallace said. “I’m so glad we already had dinner.” 

“I’m glad.” Steven chuckled fondly when Wallace took his hands, pulling him up onto his feet. “What’re you up to?” He asked, though he was smiling as Wallace rested Steven’s hand on his waist, before reaching forward to hold Steven’s waist, too. 

“Dance with me.” Wallace chuckled softly, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. Steven huffed at that, but leaned up to peck his lips gently. As he moved away, Wallace moved forward, deepening their kiss, and he smiled against his husband’s lips as their lips moved slowly against each other while they swayed to the rhythm of their heartbeats. 

“Mm.” Steven sighed, when they pulled apart, and Wallace laughed softly, nosing at his temple. “What brought this about?” 

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?” Wallace murmured into his ear, and Steven couldn’t help but shiver, grinning widely when Wallace pulled away, tilting his chin up to meet his gaze. “Darling?”

“How could I ever forget?” Steven laughed.

It had been somewhere like where they were staying now. A charming little bed and breakfast a few blocks down from their current building, which had a view of this beautiful little secret garden right across the canal. It had been a quiet little place, hidden away from the world, and at the time, they had been just like this—slow dancing, smiles pressed together as the cares of the world faded away, for just a minute.

Their wedding rings glimmered in the dim light of the moon outside as they moved past a window, and Wallace’s smile was so heart-renderingly tender, it made Steven’s eyes well up with tears. 

Gently, Wallace set Steven down on their bed, and leaned over him. 

_“The world’s full of uncertainties. Right now, it’s the first day of freedom for Hoenn, and a regular Tuesday for the rest of the world.”_ He’d said then, though now, it was a whisper between their hearts as they looked longingly into each other’s eyes.

_“Steven—is that—”_

The moon was beautiful that night, and the canals of Alto Mare sang that sweet little chirping tune of flowing water. It was just like Sootopolis, just like Wallace’s old house there, not too far from the Cave of Origin, which was framed gorgeously with blooming white flowers, green vines, and the pristine, crystal-blue rivers that ran through the city.

It was so much like home, and yet so different—Alto Mare, shrouded in darkness, in moss greens clinging to rocks like a lingering kiss; Sootopolis, bathed in sunshine, verdant greens and blooming wildflowers in volcanic soil. Both had water running through the cities like lifeblood, and Steven loved them both—loved the man that reminded him of both. 

_“I don’t think I can ever go back to living with no certainty in my life.”_ He’d said, and opened a case with a ring, the glittering sea-green stone set on top of it the same colour as Wallace’s eyes. _“So I… whenever I come back home, Wallace, you are the one I look for. You’re… the only constant in my life, and I think that—whatever happens, in the future, I’ll always know where you are.”_

_“I…”_

_“A heart, to come home to.”_ His vision had been blurred, scattering rainbows obscuring Wallace before him. _“Wallace, will you marry me?”_

“I love you.” Wallace murmured, leaning down to kiss him, and Steven pulled him close, sighing happily as he felt Wallace settle down on top of him comfortably, and he broke their kiss with a laugh, pulling away as Wallace smiled down at him fondly. “What?”

“Sorry, I—” He dissolved into a laugh again, and Wallace huffed, rolling off him to lie next to him, leaning his head on his hand. Steven turned his head to look at him, and grinned slightly. “All I remember is Fat Louis.”

“Fat—” Wallace burst out laughing, and Steven felt his heart flutter, seeing Wallace come undone like this, in a way that he could only do around Steven. “Don’t bring my Sealeo into this. He actually _needs_ the fat, thank you!” 

“I know, I know!” Steven nodded, and they shared a moment of laughter together, sighing contentedly as they settled down. “You know, he sometimes sits on me when he misses you.” He said, and Wallace huffed fondly, shaking his head. “No, I mean it! When Cobalt and I watch your Contest performances on TV, your team comes over and snuggles with us. Lizzy likes cuddling Cobalt a lot.” 

“Oh, Lizzy, that old girl.” Wallace sighed fondly, thinking of the Luvdisc currently in their house at Mossdeep. “A propensity to bully the others in the tank, that naughty thing.”

“Oh, she’s just proud to be your frontliner in Gym battles.” Steven said, and Wallace shrugged. They went quiet for a moment, and Steven sighed. “I ruined the mood, didn’t I?”

“No, not at all.” Wallace shook his head, rolling over to lie on his back, and Steven hummed, sitting up to look down at his husband. “Listen, Steven, I married you for a reason. This is part of that.”

Steven gave him a little smile. Wallace sat up, and pecked him on his lips. 

“And let me be sentimental. It _is_ the anniversary of when you proposed to me.”

“Oh!” Steven jumped slightly, and Wallace gave him a little grin, tapping his nose. 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten.” He said, but was pleasantly surprised when Steven grinned back up at him.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten either.” Steven replied, and slipped out of bed. Wallace blinked, watching him head to his work carry-on, and for a moment, Wallace began looking disappointed—when Steven brought out a small violet leather briefcase, protected with metal corners. Wallace blinked at him confusedly as he jumped onto the bed, grinning widely at Wallace. “Sorry it took a while. I wanted you to have this on our anniversary, but someone was using it for a scientific study until recently, and I had a lot of touching up to do with it.”

“Wh-what?” Wallace asked faintly, but his eyes widened when Steven opened the box.

A glittering Gyaradosite mounted on a deceptively delicate-looking Pokémon collar and a beautiful cobalt blue ring with a beautifully-cut Key Stone lay inside the box. Wallace gaped up at Steven as he set the box down on the bed, smiling. 

“Is that…” He said faintly, and took a shaky breath. “Is that.”

“Yeah.” Steven nodded, taking the Key Stone from the case, holding his hand out for Wallace to take. “Let me see it on you?”

“O-of course.” Wallace nodded, and he held his breath as Steven slid the ring onto his finger, gently resting it on top of their wedding ring. “Oh, _wow._ ” Wallace breathed softly, watching the mesmerising sparkle of his Key Stone—oh, _his_ Key Stone—on his hand. 

“And this one goes on Caesar.” Steven said, and Wallace touched the Gyaradosite reverently. “When we get home, you can put it on him.”

“Y-yes.” Wallace nodded, and Steven kissed his cheek. “And we’ll battle.”

“That eager to break it out, huh?” He laughed softly, and Wallace looked at him earnestly. “I already can’t wait.” 

“Oh, I want to kiss you.” Wallace said, and Steven laughed. “And give you head.” At that, Steven jumped, choking on his embarrassed splutters as Wallace gently shut the case, getting up to put the case on the vanity next to Steven’s laptop. With a little huff, Wallace shut the lid, and made his way back to the bed. 

“Th-that took a turn.” Steven laughed nervously, jumping when Wallace crowded over him, shrugging his bathrobe back, and Steven felt his cheeks burn when Wallace revealed his body to him, a lovely little flush on his cheeks too. “I-I—uh. What brought this on?” He asked, reaching up to cup Wallace’s cheek in his hand, and Wallace looked at him meaningfully.

“I missed you.” Wallace said quietly, and Steven’s eyes widened slightly as he leaned forward to kiss him deeply. 

That was right—ever since the Legendary Lockdown in Hoenn, they’d moved in together in Steven’s Mossdeep house, where they had happily stayed together, a Fly or short walk away from work. Not long after they had Cobalt, Steven was made Vice President of Devon Corporation, and he’d grown busier and busier, until there were days when all Steven could do when he got home was drop himself into bed and promptly fall asleep. 

“I missed you, a lot.” Wallace murmured against Steven’s lips, and he realised he hadn’t been moving. Steven jumped, as his husband pulled back, his eyes shimmering with a wetness that threatened to spill. “And… Cobalt missed you a lot, too.”

“I… haven’t been a good husband, have I?” Steven murmured, thumbing at Wallace’s cheekbone. “I’m… really sorry.”

“No, I understand why you have to work hard, Steven.” Wallace said, leaning into Steven’s touch as he sat up. “After what you said in the car earlier, I know… you’ve been working so hard. For Cobalt and I.”

“Doesn’t mean I should just _leave_ the two of you alone like this.” He said, pulling Wallace close. “I’m sorry I made you feel lonely.” 

Wallace hugged Steven back, sighing as he stroked Steven’s back. “I’ve been thinking.” 

“Yeah?” Steven mumbled, pressing a kiss to Wallace’s neck, and his husband shivered pleasantly. 

“ _Ngh._ About… retiring.”

At that, Steven pulled away from him, eyes wide. “ _Retiring?_ ” 

“As a possibility, darling.” Wallace said calmingly. “Not _now,_ but when you talked about an acceptable compromise, I… I think I may have to come up with a compromise, as well.”

“But… but you…” Steven began to protest, but Wallace shook his head, pressing a finger to his lips. 

“You said we’d meet halfway, Steven.” He said. “This is how.” 

Steven felt his eyes prickling, and he smiled. “I love you so much, Wallace.”

“I love you too.” Wallace smiled, and climbed into Steven’s lap, his gentle smile widening a little more into a smirk as he wrapped his arms around the back of Steven’s neck, letting the bathrobe drop behind him. “And like I said, Steven, you haven’t killed the mood at all.”

Steven felt a hardness brush against his stomach, but he couldn’t look away from Wallace’s half-lidded expression. He shivered pleasantly and nodded. 

“I… can see that.” He said haltingly, and let Wallace kiss him as he shuffled back towards the headboard, panting lightly when they parted. “So, uh… who’s going to, um—”

“We _clearly_ haven’t been having sex recently.” Wallace rolled his eyes, and Steven laughed fondly, shaking his head. “Don’t you go laughing now, Steven!” He huffed, and Steven took the chance to lean up and kiss him, feeling Wallace’s frown curve up into a smile as he melted into their kiss. 

Wallace’s hands reached up to tangle in Steven’s hair, and he reached down to hold him by his waist, tracing featherlight patterns on his skin. He could feel Wallace shiver against him, and when they parted for air, Steven pressed their foreheads together. 

“You still didn’t answer me, you know.” He said, and Wallace lightly smacked their foreheads together petulantly. “Hey!” Steven protested, but Wallace quickly pulled away from him, heading over to their bags, completely unmindful of his nudity. “The window’s still open!” He called, but Wallace ignored him, reaching into one of his bags and pulling out a familiar bottle. Steven blinked at it as Wallace turned around, smirking like a Meowth that got the cream. 

“Is that— _you prepared for this._ ” Steven laughed disbelievingly as Wallace practically _ran_ back to him eagerly, climbing back into bed with a determined huff.

“Like I said, we haven’t been having sex much.” He replied, looking at him pointedly, and Steven’s flush deepened. “ _Of course_ I was planning for this.”

“Totally unrelated to you being way too willing to let Cobalt have his own bed in our suite?” 

“Stop acting coy and prepare me already.” Wallace grumbled, and Steven blinked at him when he pressed the bottle into his hand. Much to his surprise, Wallace’s cheeks turned red, but he determinedly met Steven’s gaze. “I want to feel you.”

“I—right.” Steven nodded, taking the bottle from him, and he pecked him on the lips gently. “I need to get undressed first, though.”

“Let me.” Wallace said, and they adjusted themselves on the bed, so they were facing each other. Steven hesitated, but Wallace seemed to know what he wanted, at least, grabbing him by the cravat and pulling him in for a kiss. Steven sighed happily as he felt Wallace’s skilled fingers undoing each of his buttons, and before he knew it, his shirt was sliding off his shoulders, dropping with a soft sound on the bed. They parted for air, and Steven grinned, taking his larger rings off and leaving his wedding ring on as Wallace pulled the shirt out from behind him, tossing it somewhere over his shoulder. 

“I love it when you get impatient like this.” He murmured, and Wallace huffed. “C’mon, Wallace.” Steven grinned, as Wallace got to work on the fly of his slacks. “You’re always so put-together in public. Always so cool and elegant.”

Wallace managed to get his slacks down, and Steven lifted his hips to let him pull them off along with his briefs as he leaned up to kiss him again. Steven pressed his smile against Wallace’s lips as they moved around each other easily, almost like second nature, so that Steven could lean over Wallace, the taller man bracing his legs on either side of Steven’s body. 

“Here with me, when you come undone, I feel so _happy,_ knowing you’re comfortable enough to let me see it.”

“Lucky you.” Wallace chuckled, leaning up to kiss him again. Steven could feel his smile against his lips, and he pressed forward, deepening their kiss as Wallace parted his lips, inviting Steven’s tongue in. Steven swallowed a soft moan as he flicked open the lube bottle’s cap, unseeingly drizzling clear lubricant onto his fingers as Wallace reached up to hold him again, tangling his fingers into his hair. They parted for air as Steven shuffled forward a little more, parting Wallace’s legs far until he was almost doing a split. 

Steven whistled. “Didn’t know you could still do that.”

“I can do more than that, you know.” Wallace purred, and pulled Steven back into a kiss as Steven reached down to trace wet fingers around Wallace’s entrance. He shivered pleasantly, grinning slightly as he slipped his tongue into Steven’s mouth, teasing his tongue in a distracting drag of wet heat as Steven slipped a finger into him slowly. They pulled apart for air, Wallace taking a shuddering breath as he dropped his head back into the pillows behind them. “ _Oh._ I haven’t done this in a while.”

“Not even alone?” Steven murmured, feeling arousal burn in sweet, slow heat that simmered under his skin. He watched raptly as a flush bloomed across Wallace’s cheeks as he slowly began to finger him loose, and Wallace squirmed under him, nodding. “ _Not even alone?_ ”

“I am… _nngh_ —not typically… _that_ desperate.” Wallace managed, squeezing his eyes shut as Steven’s finger brushed against his prostate, and he gasped softly, his body jerking helplessly. “I—always—wanted… to wait— _hahh_ —for you.”

“Wallace.” Steven breathed, and leaned forward to kiss him tenderly, slipping another finger into him. Wallace moaned into the space between their lips as they parted for air, and Steven could feel heat building inside him. Deft fingers slid in and out of Wallace with a wet sound, scissoring gently as he prepared him. 

“I—I am not going to… last long.” Wallace laughed breathlessly, as Steven nodded, slipping a third finger into him. He squeezed his eyes shut, and crystalline beads of tears rolled down his cheeks. “ _Nngh,_ Steven— _fuck_ —”

Steven shivered at the profanity that slipped out of Wallace’s mouth as his fingers opened him up more. Wallace’s hands gripped his shoulders tightly as a broken sob escaped his lips, and Steven braced himself for the sting—

But nothing came. He couldn’t feel anything, except the heat under his skin, and the sweat that began to trickle down the back of his neck. 

_What?_

“ _Steven,_ ” Wallace breathed, and he was dragged back to the present, blinking wide-eyed at his husband, who was lying back against the pillows, panting heavily with a lovely flush on his cheeks. Despite the tear tracks on his cheeks, his lips were curved up into a little smirk, and he took Steven’s free hand, lacing their fingers together. Steven was distracted by the gleam of his wedding ring, and he looked up at Wallace, who brought his hand up to kiss it. “Steven, you’re okay. You’re here.” 

“I…” Steven smiled, nodding as he gently pulled his fingers out of Wallace. Wallace winced, squeezing Steven’s hand with a white-knuckled grip that felt like nothing, as Steven moved back, finally looking down at their flushed erections, weeping precum and dark with neglect. “Sorry, I think… I spaced out.”

“I’ll never get tired of pulling you back from space, you know that.” Wallace sat up, kissing him gently as Steven slicked himself up with a shudder. Wallace swallowed his little gasp of pleasure between their lips, and as Steven pulled away, Wallace stroked his cheek. “I know the Legendary crises in Hoenn and Kalos have changed you, and I know you’ll bear their scars for all your life. I _know_ that, Steven.”

It wasn’t that, Steven thought, but his heart swelled all the same. 

“So I’ll be the light that guides you home. You’re safe, I promise you.” He stroked Steven’s hair gently. “No more Legendaries can hurt you, I promise.”

Steven shut his eyes, and pressed his forehead against Wallace’s. 

“I’ll protect you.” Wallace murmured. “I’ll be there for you, no matter what.”

Steven knew things were much deeper than that. It wasn’t just the trauma of facing the end of the world twice over. It wasn’t just the scars that Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza and Zygarde left on his soul. 

It was something so fundamentally rooted in who Steven was, something that had been a part of him since he was a little boy. There was no way Wallace could help him, not when the problem was _Steven,_ and—

“I love you.” 

Just like that, Steven was pulled back from the darkness of his mind, and he blinked at Wallace, who smiled at him past the tears rolling down his cheeks to kiss him again. A gentle peck to his lips, to the tip of his nose, to his cheeks, and forehead. 

“Forever, like we promised.”

Steven’s expression tightened. 

“I love you too.” He murmured, pressing close to him. “Can I… are you…”

“Yes,” Wallace said breathlessly. “Please, I’ve waited long enough.”

“You’re right.” Steven laughed sadly, and pushed in. The two of them let out shuddering gasps, Wallace throwing his head back against the pillows while Steven winced, shuddering as the familiar, yet overwhelming sensation of _heat_ around him. “ _Fuck,_ ” He gasped, reeling himself in as hard as he can when he felt a tightness build inside him, ready to burst. “ _Wallace._ ”

“I—” Wallace cut himself off, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and he laughed headily. “ _Oh,_ it’s… been a while.”

“I-it really has.” Steven shivered, feeling Wallace squeeze around him. “ _Shit._ ”

“Oh, hearing you speak like that…” Wallace purred, reaching up to pull Steven into a kiss. “You _can’t_ let Cobalt hear you.” 

“You can’t let him hear you too.” Steven grumbled, squeezing Wallace’s thighs as he spread them further apart again, making his husband groan softly, throwing his head back against the pillows. “Gotta… keep quiet.”

“You like me doing the splits, don’t you?” Wallace laughed quietly, and Steven gave him a wry grin. 

“Do it more often, and we’ll see how much our sex life improves, darling.” 

“Only if you actually wear your reading glasses.” Wallace replied tartly, and Steven realised that they had both finally calmed down enough. The look in Wallace’s eyes seemed to tell him as much, and he gave Wallace’s thighs another unsure squeeze. 

“I’m… can I?” He asked gingerly, and Wallace nodded, biting his lip as his hands balled into fists into the sheets. “You sure?”

Wallace rolled his eyes, and locked his legs around Steven’s waist. Steven’s eyes widened, and Wallace cocked his head at him. 

“Of course.” He replied, “Give it to me, Champion.”

Steven groaned softly, and nodded, pulling out of him until only the head was inside, before thrusting back in. Wallace gasped, squirming pleasantly as he felt Steven plug him up, and Wallace’s reaction spurred Steven to keep going, smiling more and more to himself as he began to thrust into his husband in earnest. Wallace’s little gasps soon escalated, as Steven went faster and harder, turning into moans and broken diminutives of Steven’s name as they both chased their pleasure with each other. 

“ _Steven,_ please, please—” Wallace gasped, and Steven nodded, wrapping his hand around Wallace’s weeping cock, and he moved down to swallow his gasp in a heated kiss as he began to stroke Wallace to completion. 

Wallace’s hands shot up to hold Steven close, oh so achingly _close,_ yet Steven didn’t feel a single twitch of pain, not as Wallace’s perfectly manicured, turquoise nails dug into his skin, and his teeth dug into Steven’s lips. 

“ _Close,_ ” Steven gasped as they parted for air, and Wallace nodded.

“Me too.” He said, pressing their foreheads together. “Please, Steven, I—”

“I know.” 

Their breaths were in perfect sync, and if Steven listened more closely, their heartbeats were probably racing at the same speed, too. He pushed into Wallace one, two three more times—

Wallace winced, his pleasure peaking as he came, and Steven groaned at the sensation of Wallace’s walls squeezing around him, feeling his own orgasm wash over him as he came inside his husband.

“Shit,” He panted, “I’m—I’m so sorry.”

“ _That_ has also been a while.” Wallace laughed softly, and he looked up at Steven, gently brushing a lock of his hair away from his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I should—I should be asking you that.” Steven replied, gently pulling out of Wallace. The both of them winced at the sensation, and Wallace’s legs squeezed Steven’s sides distractingly sweetly when he felt Steven’s release trickle out of him. “And… you need a bath again.”

“I do.” Wallace looked up at him with half-lidded eyes, and Steven laughed nervously. “And I also said I wanted to give you head.” 

“Oh, boy.” He said intelligently, and Wallace laughed, sitting up as he took Steven’s hand, pulling him along to their ensuite bathroom.

“Come on,” Wallace said, “We’re on holiday, Steven. I’m getting all the sex I can have.”

“You’ve become a monster!” Steven laughed, but he let Wallace pull him into the bathroom.

* * *

Alto Mare was beautiful and bright that crisp morning, and Steven felt he was a little too overdressed, dressed in two pieces of his three-piece suit as he stood at a bridge that overlooked the waterway where the race was going to be held. Last night felt like a dream, though the soreness in his lower back and thighs told him otherwise. Still, every wince they elicited made Steven only happier, and now, holding onto Cobalt securely while his son sat on the mossy stone railing, he watched as the racers took their places at the starting line. 

Wallace was there too, in something a little more subdued than his usual clothes—a pair of shorts, a floral undershirt and an unbuttoned white linen shirt on top of that—and a wide-brimmed sun hat. He seemed to be out for a day of boating, not a race, Steven thought bemusedly, and he and Cobalt cheered delightedly when Wallace brought out his Starmie. 

“Let’s go, Andromeda!” He called, and the Starmie cried out in agreement, graciously accepting the harness Wallace wrapped around it. 

The crowd also seemed to titter excitedly—at some point, Wallace brought Andromeda along with his Milotic, Eurydice, to a contest, and it captured the hearts of many. Wallace waved at the cheering crowd around him as Andromeda brought itself and its trainer to the starting line. He blew a kiss at his husband and son, and Steven laughed sheepishly, his cheeks turning pink as Cobalt bounced in his place, delightedly blowing several kisses back to his father.

“ _The legendary Top Coordinator, Wallace Stone, is here with us this year!_ ” The announcer gleefully announced on top of her Pelipper as she flew over the waterway. “ _And his husband and son are here too, to cheer him on!_ ”

“Wow, Dad!” Cobalt cooed, “They know us!”

“Well, your Papa’s pretty famous.” Steven smiled, patting Cobalt’s head as the last few of the racers got into position. “Oh, it’s starting!”

“ _It’s a beautiful day in Alto Mare, and we’ve got clear skies ahead! Everyone, are you ready for the main event?_ ” The young woman on her Pelipper called over her microphone, and the crowd burst into cheers. Cobalt cheered gleefully as Steven watched on more sedately, grinning widely as he saw Wallace’s gaze down the canal sharpen into a focused point. 

“Oh, he’s in it to win it, is he?” He chuckled fondly. 

“ _Trainers, when you hear the Xatu, that’s your cue!_ ” She called, flying over the little buoy with the Pokémon on it. “ _On your marks…!_ ”

The three Natu on top of the Xatu began to count down, crying out while spreading their wings one by one—

“ _Xatu!_ ” The Xatu cried, and the trainers shot off down the waterway. Wallace and Andromeda immediately cut forward ahead of the group, and Steven and Cobalt couldn’t help but cheer on delightedly. Wallace shot through the bridge, one hand holding onto the rope that kept him anchored to Andromeda, and the other onto his sunhat, making Steven laugh helplessly.

The excitement died down soon after Wallace turned the corner, leading the pack that lagged behind him, and Steven sighed happily. Cobalt pouted, and poked at his father’s cheek. 

“I wanna follow Papa.” He said, and Steven shrugged helplessly. 

“We really can’t, it’s dangerous to follow them.” He said, “We’d get in the way of the other racers, too.”

“Mercury?” Cobalt asked, and Steven blinked at him. “Please? Can we fly?”

“Oh, Cobalt.” Steven shook his head fondly. “Sorry, I didn’t bring Mercury with me. I have Orpheus, but he’s far too big for Alto Mare’s canals. We’ll just have to wait here. There’s a screen where we can watch what’s happening.”

Cobalt pouted. “Aw.” He said, but obediently looked up at the screen when Steven pointed at it. Steven smiled, stroking Cobalt’s head as he watched alongside his son—when a blue fin-like wing came into view. 

“Wh—” He began, and the wing continued to shimmer into view—until Cobalt’s Latios friend appeared, smiling at the two of them expectantly. 

“Latios!” Steven gasped, as Cobalt cheered, “Latios!” 

Around them, the crowd began to murmur excitedly, and the Latios looked a little agitated. Cobalt’s smile slid off his face, and he reached up for the Eon Pokémon. 

“No, what’s wrong?” He asked, and Steven shook his head.

“I think he’s just a little uneasy around so many people.” He said, and Latios nodded. 

“Oh!” Cobalt blinked. “Latios, can I ride you? I wanna follow Papa!”

Latios nodded eagerly, and Steven laughed helplessly, nodding as he helped Cobalt get onto the Pokémon’s back. 

“Just bring him back safely, okay?” He said, and Latios looked at him expectantly. Steven’s smile slid off his face as realisation sank in, and he blinked back at Latios. “Wait. _No,_ you can’t mean—”

Cobalt grinned, and tugged on his hand. 

“I’ve got him, Latios! Let’s go!”

Steven let out a shout of alarm as he felt the cold touch of Psychic on his body, lifting him off the ground. He spluttered, squirming in alarm as Latios and Cobalt lifted him off the bridge—and dropped him towards the canal.

“ _Cobalt!_ ” Steven shouted—but Latios quickly darted beneath him, catching him on his back. He spluttered as they shot out through the underside of the bridge, feeling psychic power wash over him. He clung onto his son tightly, who laughed brightly as Latios flew up higher again. 

Steven looked down at the crowd that began to wonder where he and Cobalt went, and he realised that they had gone invisible. He looked down at Latios, and stroked his neck reverently. 

“You… made us invisible.” He breathed, awed, and Latios peered back up at him, smiling slightly. He laughed disbelievingly, and nodded, unmindful of the way Cobalt grinned up at him. “Okay, let’s look for Wallace.” He said, and Latios surged forward, weaving through the labyrinth of Alto Mare’s waterways expertly. Cobalt seemed content with leaning into his father’s arms, giggling brightly as Steven held him steady, looking down for his husband.

“Papa!” Cobalt cheered, and Latios and Steven lit up, seeing the man leading far ahead of the rest, a determined little smirk on his lips. Latios hovered above him, keeping pace with Andromeda’s determined charge through the beautiful water, unmindful of the dragon above it. 

Wallace seemed to notice, though, and Steven couldn’t help but smile when he jumped slightly, looking up above him as Andromeda ploughed on. 

“Was that…” He said quietly, but then let out a shout as his hat flew off his head. “No!”

Steven’s hand shot out to grab it, and Wallace’s eyes widened. 

“Latios, let’s say hi to Papa!” Cobalt cooed, and the Pokémon crooned in agreement, letting father and son come into view of Wallace. Steven grinned down at Wallace’s awestruck face, putting Wallace’s sun hat on. 

“You’re doing great, Wallace! Andromeda!”

The Starmie let out a cry, moving faster, and Wallace laughed, holding on with both hands now, to keep his balance. 

“If you win, I’ll give you a kiss!” Steven called, and Wallace grinned up at him. 

“Like you don’t already do that!” He called back, and they turned a corner. Cobalt gasped in awe as Wallace expertly turned his body to accommodate the spin, Andromeda slowing down long enough to let its trainer make the turn before speeding along the waterway again. 

“I never said where!” Steven said, and Wallace seemed to perk up. 

“Andromeda, let’s go!” He barked, and Steven dissolved into helpless, almost hysterical laughter at Wallace’s reaction, while Latios and Cobalt looked at each other confusedly. 

“Does Papa want a kiss on the nose that badly?” He asked, and Latios tipped his head in confusion. Steven shook his head, pressing a kiss to Cobalt’s head fondly. 

“Latios, let’s go invisible.” He said, “We shouldn’t be distracting to the other competitors.” 

Latios cooed in agreement, and they went invisible, following Wallace as he stormed through Alto Mare with the determination that could almost be _frightening,_ if Steven didn’t know exactly _why_ Wallace wanted to win. 

Steven absentmindedly patted Latios’s side, thinking about how lucky they were to be on this Legendary Pokémon—how _lucky,_ that Latios was there when Cobalt fell overboard, unable to swim—

Steven squeezed his eyes shut. 

_Cobalt was going to end up just like him._

No, not this time, he thought to himself. Maybe this time, his infamous intuition would be incorrect. It didn’t make sense—Cobalt knew how to swim, maybe the fall had been a fluke. Wallace’s grip on his shoulders last night wasn’t _that_ hard, he could still feel pain, just like the dull ache in his hips and thighs from the night before. His inability to feel cold was just a simple issue of being used to the cold, spending most of his days working with his father in his ice-cold office. 

No, there was nothing wrong with Steven—and there _certainly_ was nothing wrong with Cobalt.

Steven’s intuition can be wrong, surely?

There was nothing _different_ about them. All of these were simple strokes of luck.

* * *

Wallace won the race by a landslide, graciously accepting the award with a beautiful smile while Andromeda buzzed proudly in front of him, adorned with its own ribbon. Steven and Cobalt watched from Latios’s back, and when it was all over, the family reunited on the bridge, looking up at Latios, who was smiling at them expectantly. 

“Thank you for that wonderful time.” Steven said, reaching up to pet Latios. He cooed happily, rubbing his head against Steven’s palm, and he laughed.

“Me too!” Cobalt cheered, and Steven nodded, picking the boy up to let him reach the Legendary Pokémon, petting him gently. “Thank you so much, Latios! I had a lot of fun!”

Latios cooed happily, and held Cobalt’s hand, tugging on it insistently. 

“Oh, you want to keep playing?” Cobalt asked, and much to their surprise, the Latios shook his head. 

“What is it?” Wallace asked gently, sharing a confused look with Steven, who shrugged, before looking back at the Legendary Pokémon. “What would you like?”

Latios cooed, and Steven jumped, feeling his Metagross’s Pokéball float out from the holster attached to the body of his vest. “Orpheus!” he gasped, setting Cobalt down before he reached out for it. He managed to grab the ball before it could get too far away from him, and he tucked it back into his holster with a sigh. Wallace’s eyes widened, and he looked up at Latios.

“You want to come with us?” He asked incredulously, and Latios nodded, rushing forward to cuddle with Cobalt, and the boy lit up, hugging the dragon close as he looked at his parents. 

“Oh, please, please?” Cobalt pleaded, as Steven and Wallace stared at each other incredulously. “I promise I’ll take care of him! Dad can catch him for me until I can have Pokémon of my own!”

The two men looked at Latios, who looked at Steven intently. The man took a shaky breath, and took out a spare Ultra Ball from the harness next to Orpheus’s Pokéball. 

“Will you truly be alright with this?” He asked, and the Latios nodded. “Okay…” He said nervously, and gently tossed the Ultra Ball at Latios. It landed on his forehead, and he squeaked a little as the Pokéball activated, putting him inside. Cobalt jumped, catching the Ultra Ball as it fell from the sky, and the three of them watched as it wiggled in Cobalt’s hands once, twice, three times—

And closed with a satisfying _click._

“I caught a Latios.” Steven said disbelievingly, and Wallace chuckled fondly.

“Good luck explaining _that_ to Customs, darling.” He said, pressing a kiss to Steven’s cheek, before kissing Cobalt’s cheek, too. “Take care of Latios, alright?” Wallace said gently, and Cobalt nodded, grinning widely.

Steven thought of their Mossdeep house, and laughed faintly as he held Wallace’s hand. 

“None of our Pokémon are going to fit at home anymore.” He said, and Wallace chuckled fondly. 

“Time to move, I suppose.” Wallace hummed, lacing their fingers together, and Steven laughed. “And work a little harder, because we are absolutely _not_ leaving Cobalt alone to take care of _that_ massive beast.”

“Absolutely not.” Steven laughed, and they watched as Cobalt began to gleefully chatter about his new friend. “Oh, Arceus.” He sighed, leaning against Wallace as he began to think about their Pokéfood expenses. “We’re in the thick of it now, Wallace.”

“Don’t you know it.” Wallace chuckled. “Lucky us.”

 _Lucky._

Steven winced, but before Wallace could say anything about it, they jumped at the sound of a voice calling them.

“Hey!” The gondolier from yesterday—Ned, right—came hurrying up to them, grinning brightly. “Oh, I’m glad I ran into the two of you here!” He came to a stop in front of them, panting heavily as he caught his breath.

“Hey, take it easy.” Steven chuckled fondly, and Ned straightened up, giving them a sunny grin.

“I wanted to give you this!” he said, and held out a Polaroid photo to them. “It’s a photo I took yesterday. I thought you two might want it.”

“Oh?” Wallace raised an eyebrow as Steven accepted the photo, giving Ned a grateful smile. They peered at the photo, and warm smiles crossed their faces. 

It was a photo of Cobalt, riding the Latios with such a beautiful grin on his face, caught in mid-giggle. He was soaked wet, but he didn’t seem to mind, caught up in the moment of pure joy at meeting a new friend. 

“Oh, Ned.” Steven breathed. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

Ned gave them a cheerful grin. “You’re welcome, _Signore_.” He gestured at the canal beneath them, and gave Wallace a thumbs-up. “Oh, and congrats on winning the Tour de Alto Mare! I saw it go down on the TV at the printing shop. What in the _world_ are you feeding that Starmie?”

“Motivation.” Wallace smiled, and squeezed Steven’s hand. Steven’s cheeks went pink, as he tucked Cobalt’s photo in his wallet. Wallace gave him a knowing little smile, and looked around. “Speaking of food, you don’t happen to have any recommendations on where to eat, do you?” 

“I know a place, _Signore!_ ” Ned nodded, “Let’s go! I’ll take you on my gondola.”

Steven and Wallace nodded, and Wallace took Cobalt’s hand, leading them along towards the canals. Steven watched his son gleefully skip alongside Wallace, looking dreamily at the Pokéball he’d refused to let go.

 _Lucky,_ Wallace had said. He hoped that luck only extended to _meeting_ Legedaries, and not their blessings.

* * *

_SOME YEARS LATER_

“Steven, dinner’s ready.”

_This paper investigated four cases of confirmed extraordinary human capabilities. While the specific origin of these abilities is yet to be discovered, the researchers have confirmed the existence of Typing present even among the human populace._

“Steven?”

_To conclude, this study has determined that a vast majority of humans exist as Normal types, similar to other Pokémon species that share the same type. This Normal typing implies the lack of any extraordinary traits, such as the ones described in the cases above. Individuals with superhuman capabilities, such as Duke Raihan of Hammerlocke, Galar, Leader Nessa of Hulbury, Galar, Leader Allister of Stow-On-Side, Galar and Trial Captain Kiawe of Akala Island, Alola, are those we consider Secondary Typed people._

“Steven!” 

Steven blinked, jerking in alarm as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from the paper he was reading to look at Wallace, who was pouting at him petulantly. Steven gave Wallace a tired little smile as he took his reading glasses off, wincing as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Sorry. I got pretty absorbed in this paper I was reading.” He said, and Wallace huffed, shaking his head fondly. 

“You come home early for the first time in months, and you’re _still_ working.” He sighed, and Steven gave him a feeble little grin. “Oh, you. Just because Cobalt’s away on a sleepover…”

“I promise I won’t fall asleep on you this time.” Steven laughed, getting up on his seat to stretch, wincing when he felt his joints pop. “Oh, wow. Guess I’ve been sitting here for a while.”

“A while.” Wallace rolled his eyes. “You’ve been there since I started making dinner.”

“I’m sorry!” Steven laughed helplessly when Wallace hugged him, bodily dragging him out of their bedroom.

“Well, you’d better make it up to me!” Wallace huffed, and Steven laughed some more. “I mean it!”

“Anything you want.” Steven smiled fondly, pulling Wallace into a kiss, and he could feel his husband smile against his lips as they held each other close. They parted for air, and he pressed their foreheads together. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Wallace murmured, “We’re battling later.”

Steven grinned at that, and he nodded. “Can’t wait.”

Wallace pulled away from him, smiling, and gestured at the kitchen. “I still have to go chop some lettuce, actually, but could you get us a bottle of wine? Your choice tonight.”

“Sure thing.” Steven nodded, and watched Wallace leave. He sighed, shaking his head as he returned to their room to finish off the paper he was reading. 

_It is highly likely that there are many, many more others that have secondary typing. While some traits may be more obvious than others, extraordinary lives and deaths may be revealed as attributed to secondary typing. As determined with Duke Raihan, there may be certain secondary typings that are more susceptible to certain stimuli than others. As such, it is imperative that individuals with suspected secondary typing be careful, and it is our goal to reveal these hypersensitivities so that we are able to save more lives from now on._

Steven stared at the paper, feeling his hands grow clammy as his heart lodged in his throat.

“Could it be…” He breathed. “That’s… not possible.”

Over the years, Cobalt had grown more comfortable with swimming, but just like his father, seemed to tend to sink like a stone, much to Wallace’s chagrin. Still, Cobalt had his Latios friend with him, helping him stay afloat and even out of the water, if necessary. 

Over the years, Steven could feel temperatures less and less. He would have no idea that Cobalt got a fever until Wallace felt their son’s forehead. Steven couldn’t even feel pain, resistant to all kinds of physical trauma—he was hardly even bruised when _both_ Orpheus and Caesar, _Mega Evolved,_ landed on him during one battle with Wallace. 

Steven squeezed his eyes shut, and shook his head. 

“I can’t be.” He said shakily, and thought of Cobalt. “ _He_ can’t be…”

“Steven!” Wallace called, and he jerked back to the present, shutting the laptop as he hurried to the cabinet of spirits they had kept in the room, away from Cobalt’s reach. Wallace strode into the room, cocking his head. “Steven?” His eyes widened when he saw his husband, and he hurried over to him, pulling him into a tight hug. “Are you okay?”

“I—I’m fine.” 

Wallace pressed a kiss to his temple, sighing softly as he pulled away, cupping Steven’s face in his hands. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Steven looked up into his husband’s eyes, and thought of the lifetime they’d spent together. 

How many times, he wondered, how many times had he scared Wallace half to death—and still, Wallace loved him? How many times had the world almost ended without him by his side, and _still,_ Wallace loved him?

“Wallace, I love you so much.” He said, feeling emotion prickling the corners of his eyes as he pulled Wallace close, taking a shuddering breath. His husband blinked, frowning in confusion, but he nodded, hugging Steven back with a fond sigh. 

Now, the cursed blessing of the gods themselves seemed to want to tear them apart, again. 

No, never again. Steven could weather this storm beyond them, crossing seas to dig deep into what made him human—if he truly were one. 

“I love you too.” Wallace said warmly. “I don’t know what brought this on, Steven, but always remember, we made a promise that day, when you asked me to marry you.”

Wallace’s hand stroking his back was soothing and kind, though Steven could no longer feel the warmth of it, at least, not on his skin. His heart was warmed by it, regardless, and he pressed closer into Wallace’s embrace.

“We said forever, Steven.” He pressed a kiss to Steven’s hair. “And I’ll stand by that.”

Forever, Steven thought, as he buried his face into the crook of Wallace’s neck.

Forever sounded nice.

Wallace took his hands, and gently began to lead him to the dining room. Steven peered back at his laptop, and felt his anxiety begin to grow. 

Secondary typing. He should start his search there.

* * *

It was no small miracle that they ran into Cynthia that day, though everything else had been according to plan. Sinnoh was as gorgeous as he remembered it, and he knew encouraging Wallace to give a performance would not only raise his husband’s spirits, but maybe catch the attention of Cynthia, whom he knew would be in the city that day, based on the news he saw on social media. 

“It’s bothering you, isn’t it?” Cynthia asked, and Steven blinked at her. She gave him a knowing smile, cocking her head at him. “I can see it in your eyes, Steven. I don’t know how much of this you’ve somehow managed to hide from Wallace, but I know you pretty well, too.”

She took a sip from her coffee as Steven deflated. 

“I… I hate to admit this, Cynthia, but… I’m…”

He looked at Wallace and Raihan, laughing together about something as Wallace’s Milotic danced with Raihan’s Goodra. 

“I’m _scared._ ” He said, voice barely a whisper, and Cynthia’s eyes widened. “Surely you must have felt it at some point, the fear of encountering something far greater than everything you’ve ever known.” Steven’s grip went white-knuckled around his can, and Cynthia deflated, looking down at the ground.

“I have.” She murmured.

“I read Professor Sonia’s paper, the one about secondary typing.” Steven said, and Cynthia nodded. “For the longest time, I thought… I was just some normal-type guy. I wasn’t _that_ different from everyone around me.”

They watched as Raihan’s Goodra shot forward a Surf towards him, and at Wallace’s call, the younger trainer somersaulted over the wave of water. 

“When I was younger, I thought that maybe it wasn’t _too_ serious, maybe I’d just been really, really lucky.” Steven’s voice trembled slightly. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, and thought of Cobalt and Latios.

“Maybe… it was easier if I just ignored it. Maybe it was a universal experience that no one acknowledged.”

“Steven.” Cynthia sighed sadly.

“But as I grew older, I couldn’t deny it.” He said. “There’s something… _different_ about me. And then I found out that maybe—maybe I’m not as normal as I thought I was.”

They fell quiet, watching as Wallace and Raihan regrouped, talking together again, and Cynthia sighed. 

“And suddenly, you realise there’s always been a reason for all the strange things in your life.” She said, and Steven nodded.

“Suddenly, I realised that things that normally don’t kill other people could kill me in an instant.” He took a sip of coffee, and sighed. “Could kill _Cobalt_ in an instant.”

Cynthia gasped softly, jumping in realisation. “ _No._ Cobalt, too?”

“I don’t know.” Steven shook his head. “I could die at any minute and I wouldn’t know why. Or how. Or how to stop it from happening.” He lowered his head, hiding his eyes under his bangs, and Cynthia looked at him pityingly. “I can’t stop thinking about it. About Wallace and Cobalt. What if Cobalt was like me? What if he could die as easily as I could, and what then?”

Cynthia reached forward, and gently rubbed his back. 

“I really think you should talk to Wallace about this.” She said softly, and Steven shook his head.

“What if it isn’t even _real?_ ” He hissed, “What if after all this anxiety and fear, _nothing_ comes of this?” Cynthia pursed her lips, looking down at her hands sadly. “What do I have to gain if I told him all this now, what if I was just going to overreact? I’m going to hurt him, Cynthia, and I’m going to ruin one of the most precious things in my life.”

He raised his head, and looked at her pleadingly. Cynthia’s eyes widened at him, and she felt her heart clog her throat. 

“I don’t want to hurt him. I’ve terrified him more than enough for a lifetime.” He said shakily. “What happened in Hoenn, in Kalos—I said that would be it. I wouldn’t _ever_ want Wallace to get hurt, not ever again.”

The wind blew between them as they fell silent, and beyond them, they could hear the sound of Wallace and Raihan’s laughter.

Cynthia felt her eyes prickle, and she nodded. 

“I understand.” She said softly. “I’ll let you know when we find the Lake of Life as soon as possible.” Cynthia sighed, and squeezed Steven’s wrist. “Until then, take care.”

“I will.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Pokemon names for anyone who needs them:  
> \- Mercury, Steven's Skarmory: quicksilver reference, is a mineral  
> \- Orpheus, Steven's Metagross: someone had a crush when he was a little kid running around with Mr. Juan's pretty student in a sailor outfit
> 
> \- Eurydice, Wallace's Milotic: it was because she looked like tree bark as a Feebas  
> \- Andromeda, Wallace's Starmie  
> \- Lizzy (Elizabeth), Wallace's Luvdisc  
> \- Louis (Fat Louis), Wallace's Sealeo  
> \- Caesar, Wallace's Gyarados
> 
> We figured out in pokespe that Wallace names his mons after royalty so we have decided to Run With It, apparently


End file.
